This chapter argues that all creative thought ultimately reduces to creative action. On this account, action schemata are activated creatively and rehearsed, issuing in globally broadcast imagery ...
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This chapter argues that all creative thought ultimately reduces to creative action. On this account, action schemata are activated creatively and rehearsed, issuing in globally broadcast imagery (including inner speech). It is argued that the proper function of childhood pretend play is to practice creative supposition, and the absence of pretence in autism as a test case is examined. The chapter closes with some discussion of creative hypothesis generation and creative language use in adulthood.Less

Creative Cognition in a Modular Mind

Peter Carruthers

Published in print: 2006-09-28

This chapter argues that all creative thought ultimately reduces to creative action. On this account, action schemata are activated creatively and rehearsed, issuing in globally broadcast imagery (including inner speech). It is argued that the proper function of childhood pretend play is to practice creative supposition, and the absence of pretence in autism as a test case is examined. The chapter closes with some discussion of creative hypothesis generation and creative language use in adulthood.

Most models of creative thought and creative activity assume that thought is normally the precursor of action: we think first, then we act. This chapter argues that creative action can't be reduced ...
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Most models of creative thought and creative activity assume that thought is normally the precursor of action: we think first, then we act. This chapter argues that creative action can't be reduced to creative thought, and that at least some forms of creative action aren't preceded by a creative thought. It then briefly argues that it is implausible that there should be two distinct and independent sources of creativity — one for action and one for thought. It shows how creative thought can be explained in terms of creative action, utilizing known mechanisms including a well-established system for the mental rehearsal of action, and a cognitive architecture for global broadcasting of sensory or quasi-sensory (imagistic) states. It is argued that act-first accounts of creativity have evolutionary precursors, some of them quite ancient. It is shown that thought-first accounts of creativity, in contrast, face problems of evolvability, and that they need to assume a heavy explanatory burden in comparison with the act-first account. Some of the costs and benefits of accepting an act-first account of creativity are outlined.Less

The Creative Action Theory of Creativity

Peter Carruthers

Published in print: 2008-04-01

Most models of creative thought and creative activity assume that thought is normally the precursor of action: we think first, then we act. This chapter argues that creative action can't be reduced to creative thought, and that at least some forms of creative action aren't preceded by a creative thought. It then briefly argues that it is implausible that there should be two distinct and independent sources of creativity — one for action and one for thought. It shows how creative thought can be explained in terms of creative action, utilizing known mechanisms including a well-established system for the mental rehearsal of action, and a cognitive architecture for global broadcasting of sensory or quasi-sensory (imagistic) states. It is argued that act-first accounts of creativity have evolutionary precursors, some of them quite ancient. It is shown that thought-first accounts of creativity, in contrast, face problems of evolvability, and that they need to assume a heavy explanatory burden in comparison with the act-first account. Some of the costs and benefits of accepting an act-first account of creativity are outlined.

Mental imagery is the quasi-perceptual state of consciousness in which the mind appears to be able to create sensory-like experience. It is often cited as having a crucial role in creative thought; ...
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Mental imagery is the quasi-perceptual state of consciousness in which the mind appears to be able to create sensory-like experience. It is often cited as having a crucial role in creative thought; it is often associated with successful acts and performances across a wide range of creative tasks, including the development of scientific models, the conceptualization of architectural design, and the aspects of everyday problem-solving. Despite its assumed role in creative thought, its exact contribution remains a debated issue. This chapter outlines some of the anecdotal evidence that supports the link between imagery and creative thought. It also reviews evidence garnered from a number of experimental studies that have examined the use of imagery under controlled conditions. It also discusses the extent to which representational theories of imagery have failed to directly account for the phenomenology that is associated with imagery.Less

Mental Imagery and Creative Thought

DAVID G. PEARSON

Published in print: 2007-12-27

Mental imagery is the quasi-perceptual state of consciousness in which the mind appears to be able to create sensory-like experience. It is often cited as having a crucial role in creative thought; it is often associated with successful acts and performances across a wide range of creative tasks, including the development of scientific models, the conceptualization of architectural design, and the aspects of everyday problem-solving. Despite its assumed role in creative thought, its exact contribution remains a debated issue. This chapter outlines some of the anecdotal evidence that supports the link between imagery and creative thought. It also reviews evidence garnered from a number of experimental studies that have examined the use of imagery under controlled conditions. It also discusses the extent to which representational theories of imagery have failed to directly account for the phenomenology that is associated with imagery.

This chapter articulates and defends the view that a work of art is the intentional product of aesthetic creative thought. The view, roughly, is that someone has an insight into an ...
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This chapter articulates and defends the view that a work of art is the intentional product of aesthetic creative thought. The view, roughly, is that someone has an insight into an aesthetic/non-aesthetic dependency, and then intentionally endows something with aesthetic properties in virtue of the non-aesthetic properties. The chapter gives an account of aesthetic insight and aesthetic action. The account of aesthetic action is an instance of a familiar means-end model of rational deliberation. But the account of aesthetic creative insight is non-rational, and it coincides with traditional accounts of genius. The chapter defends the notion of creative genius against claims made by sociologists of art.Less

Art as Aesthetic Creation

Nick Zangwill

Published in print: 2007-07-01

This chapter articulates and defends the view that a work of art is the intentional product of aesthetic creative thought. The view, roughly, is that someone has an insight into an aesthetic/non-aesthetic dependency, and then intentionally endows something with aesthetic properties in virtue of the non-aesthetic properties. The chapter gives an account of aesthetic insight and aesthetic action. The account of aesthetic action is an instance of a familiar means-end model of rational deliberation. But the account of aesthetic creative insight is non-rational, and it coincides with traditional accounts of genius. The chapter defends the notion of creative genius against claims made by sociologists of art.

This book contains modern concepts about the physics of electrons in solids. It is written using a minimum of mathematics, with the emphasis on various physical models aimed at stimulating creative ...
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This book contains modern concepts about the physics of electrons in solids. It is written using a minimum of mathematics, with the emphasis on various physical models aimed at stimulating creative thinking. The book aims to aid in the choice of the most efficient scheme of an experiment or the optimal algorithm of a calculation. Boltzmann and hopping types of conductivity are compared. The qualitative theory of weak localization is presented and its links with the true localization and metal-insulator transitions. Processes that determine the structure of impurity bands are revealed. The concepts introduced in this book are applied to descriptions of granular metals and quasicrystals, as well as the integer quantum Hall effect, emphasizing their universality.Less

Electrons and Disorder in Solids

V. F. Gantmakher

Published in print: 2005-08-25

This book contains modern concepts about the physics of electrons in solids. It is written using a minimum of mathematics, with the emphasis on various physical models aimed at stimulating creative thinking. The book aims to aid in the choice of the most efficient scheme of an experiment or the optimal algorithm of a calculation. Boltzmann and hopping types of conductivity are compared. The qualitative theory of weak localization is presented and its links with the true localization and metal-insulator transitions. Processes that determine the structure of impurity bands are revealed. The concepts introduced in this book are applied to descriptions of granular metals and quasicrystals, as well as the integer quantum Hall effect, emphasizing their universality.

This chapter focuses on the rare form of creative cognition, that which leads to revolutionary ideas. The case is made, with supporting empirical evidence, that prior experience can sometimes block ...
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This chapter focuses on the rare form of creative cognition, that which leads to revolutionary ideas. The case is made, with supporting empirical evidence, that prior experience can sometimes block or impede cognitive operations in memory, problem solving and creative thinking, and that similar cognitive processes are involved in all three domains. Such constraints can have profound effects on the creative ideas generated not only in individuals but in groups of people as well.Less

The Constraining Effects of Initial Ideas

Steven M. Smith

Published in print: 2003-09-25

This chapter focuses on the rare form of creative cognition, that which leads to revolutionary ideas. The case is made, with supporting empirical evidence, that prior experience can sometimes block or impede cognitive operations in memory, problem solving and creative thinking, and that similar cognitive processes are involved in all three domains. Such constraints can have profound effects on the creative ideas generated not only in individuals but in groups of people as well.

This chapter proposes that creativity emerges out of a three-way process between an individual, his or her domain of work and the audience of knowledgeable peers and judges. However, this chapter ...
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This chapter proposes that creativity emerges out of a three-way process between an individual, his or her domain of work and the audience of knowledgeable peers and judges. However, this chapter focuses on within-individual cognitive processes which are essential in any creative work. The rest of this chapter discusses some of the main approaches and findings that have arisen in the study of creative processes. Overall, the results and theories outlined here indicate that, contrary to the myth of mystery, creative thinking can be empirically investigated and would appear to be explicable in terms of normal cognitive processes suitably marshalled, often in real life cases, over long periods.Less

Creative thinking: the mystery myth

Ken Gilhooly

Published in print: 2007-01-11

This chapter proposes that creativity emerges out of a three-way process between an individual, his or her domain of work and the audience of knowledgeable peers and judges. However, this chapter focuses on within-individual cognitive processes which are essential in any creative work. The rest of this chapter discusses some of the main approaches and findings that have arisen in the study of creative processes. Overall, the results and theories outlined here indicate that, contrary to the myth of mystery, creative thinking can be empirically investigated and would appear to be explicable in terms of normal cognitive processes suitably marshalled, often in real life cases, over long periods.

This chapter examines the role of creativity in resilience in the palliative care setting. It discusses the common knowledge that many famous artists create in order to survive and highlights the ...
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This chapter examines the role of creativity in resilience in the palliative care setting. It discusses the common knowledge that many famous artists create in order to survive and highlights the stories regarding a myriad of great artworks relating their creation to the darkest of times for their creators. Examples of these are the second piano Concerto of Serge Rachmaninov and Vincent Van Gogh's paintings. This chapter suggests that this same process of creative thinking can be applied to cope with a loss, trauma, or bereavement.Less

Resilience and creativity

Nigel Hartley

Published in print: 2007-09-06

This chapter examines the role of creativity in resilience in the palliative care setting. It discusses the common knowledge that many famous artists create in order to survive and highlights the stories regarding a myriad of great artworks relating their creation to the darkest of times for their creators. Examples of these are the second piano Concerto of Serge Rachmaninov and Vincent Van Gogh's paintings. This chapter suggests that this same process of creative thinking can be applied to cope with a loss, trauma, or bereavement.

In this chapter, it is argued that because uniquely-human forms of prosocial conduct stem from mechanisms in the human brain, understanding how the brain evolved supplies a basis for understanding ...
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In this chapter, it is argued that because uniquely-human forms of prosocial conduct stem from mechanisms in the human brain, understanding how the brain evolved supplies a basis for understanding them. Runaway “arm race” process, such as those involved in sexual selection, the selection of social strategies, and the evolution of culture, were probably implicated in the expansion and refinement of the human brain. Humans’ large brains enable them to create and manipulate images and ideas in their heads, which increases their capacity to learn, to remember, to plan, to predict, to perform mental simulations, to reason, and to engage in creative thinking. Humans’ capacity for language contributed to the expansion and refinement of prosocial behaviors in several ways. Although advanced cognitive abilities endow people with the capacity to engage in uniquely-human prosocial behaviors, they do not necessarily generate the motivation to enact them.Less

Dennis L. Krebs

Published in print: 2011-08-01

In this chapter, it is argued that because uniquely-human forms of prosocial conduct stem from mechanisms in the human brain, understanding how the brain evolved supplies a basis for understanding them. Runaway “arm race” process, such as those involved in sexual selection, the selection of social strategies, and the evolution of culture, were probably implicated in the expansion and refinement of the human brain. Humans’ large brains enable them to create and manipulate images and ideas in their heads, which increases their capacity to learn, to remember, to plan, to predict, to perform mental simulations, to reason, and to engage in creative thinking. Humans’ capacity for language contributed to the expansion and refinement of prosocial behaviors in several ways. Although advanced cognitive abilities endow people with the capacity to engage in uniquely-human prosocial behaviors, they do not necessarily generate the motivation to enact them.

This introductory chapter discusses how music composition could be taught to students in such a way that they will find pleasure in music making. Music teachers, as regulated by National Standards ...
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This introductory chapter discusses how music composition could be taught to students in such a way that they will find pleasure in music making. Music teachers, as regulated by National Standards for Music Education (NSME), are expected to make music composition learning more creative for students. The NSME provides supporting documents to implement its standard of music education, and appropriate teaching materials, lesson plans, and activities. Music lesson plans are basically composed of activities which let students define music and music composition, and enhance their creative thinking, so that later on they may produce their original creative music compositions.Less

Introduction

Maud Hickey

Published in print: 2012-11-29

This introductory chapter discusses how music composition could be taught to students in such a way that they will find pleasure in music making. Music teachers, as regulated by National Standards for Music Education (NSME), are expected to make music composition learning more creative for students. The NSME provides supporting documents to implement its standard of music education, and appropriate teaching materials, lesson plans, and activities. Music lesson plans are basically composed of activities which let students define music and music composition, and enhance their creative thinking, so that later on they may produce their original creative music compositions.